Meds for pinched radial nerve

[lulubearrawr]

My 11 yr/old beagle/sheperd mix has a large fatty tumor above her left front leg (she has several others, this is the largest). She also has occasional arthritis for which I give her Previcox as needed (1/2 a 227mg pill). The past two days I've given her Previcox cuz she seemed a bit slow to move around. Today I came home & she could barely walk & was curling the left front paw under. I took her to the vet, he said the tumor is pinching her radial nerve causing the paralysis. He gave me Tramadol 50mg, Prednisone 20mg (cut in half 2x a day), and I was told i could still give Previcox in hoping this would reduce the swelling around the nerve. Everything I've read says not to give prednisone & previcox together. I'd already given prednisone & tramadol before I'd read about the previcox. My issue is I'd like to give her previcox, but don't know how long I need to wait after having given the prednisone. It's breaking my heart watching her try to hobble around. Previcox has done wonders for her arthritis, I'm hoping giving it to her regularly will reverse this paralysis. Anyone have advice or been in a similar situation? Vet replies much appreciated too!

[Misfits4Me]

Steroids and NSAIDs should not be given together....A potential gastric bleed is the reason.....The washout phase from one medication to the other is 3 days......Of your choices, I'd definitely combine the Steroids & Tramadol for awhile and see how that goes......Karla

[lulubearrawr]

She's about 66 pounds. Today is the second day on her meds, no improvement yet. She's not moving much cuz it's so difficult. We've ordered a splint to help stabilize the leg & flatten the paw so she hopefully will have an easier time getting around. We've also made an appointment w/a second vet for tmrw just to get another opinion on meds & treatment options. Really trying to be hopeful here, the meds prolly won't kick in for another day or two. That's what I'm praying for anyways!

[Jerry_NJ]

Fat pockets are more common in large dogs, but I'd think your mix isn't particularly large.  My first and only experience with them was on a 10 year ol Golden Retriever - a large on, about 90 pounds.  I don't recall the removal of the fatty pocket taking a long recovery effort, but about two years later they came back and were cancerous.  We decided to put him "down".. in part because 12 years old is about average or a Golden and there was no hope of curing the cancer.

[lulubearrawr]

When she first got the tumor he said not to worry about it, but now I'm thinking if the meds don't help that I'll ask him about it. I don't know how complicated a surgery it would be, it's quite a large tumor. In the back of my mind I'm worried that they are more serious than just fatty tumors, but she still acts like a pup so I haven't been overly concerned until now that her mobility has been affected.

[Jerry_NJ]

The only thing I can say is follow the vet's advice.

Did the vet not discuss removing the fat pockets?  That is something that is normally done, in my limited experience.  The material removed should also be sent for a cancer biopsy.